A few days later, word spread that the No. 1 scholar's mansion was going to hold a wedding, with lights and decorations and ostentatious wedding characters, making it a very lively occasion.
Therefore, many rumors spread in the capital, saying that Xie Shu was now trying to follow Kong Xiu's example and marry into a wealthy family. In addition, Xie Shu had a reputation of marrying into merchant families in the past, so this time the rumors were even more outrageous.
But Xie Shu is no longer the same as before, and everyone is guessing which noble family chose him. Some even guessed it was Lu Jiao, the son of Princess Weihe.
In fact, the reason why I guessed Lu Jiao was because Princess Weihe had rejected all the wealthy families who had proposed marriage to her, showing that she wanted to marry someone of lower status. Coincidentally, Princess Weihe's followers had been seen going to the No. 1 Scholar's Mansion before, so it was not surprising to have such a guess.
After Shao Zhen knew about this, he couldn't help but secretly say good in his heart, he didn't expect Lu Jiao to be so useful, and Xie Shu fell into the trap so quickly. Now it's good, Xie Shu and the Yu family will have nothing to do with each other from now on, and he can let the people under his command who can be used go to Jiangnan.
However, Princess Weihe was very puzzled. Xie Shu had not visited her, nor had he formally proposed marriage, so how could he and Lu Jiao have a happy marriage? What was even more outrageous was that after he sent someone to deliver the invitation that day, Xie Shu directly rejected him and said that he was already married.
But how could Princess Weihe tell others about this? She didn't want to tell Shao Zhen, who had boasted to her in person that day. Was she going to say that it wasn't Lu Jiao who married Xie Shu, but someone else got there first?
Princess Weihe half thought it was incredible. Could anyone be better than their Lu Jiao? Half felt humiliated. He had chosen Xie Shu, which was a great blessing for Xie Shu. Not only did he not accept it, he even dared to reject him like this!
Thinking of this, Princess Weihe was filled with hatred and would not let Xie Shu get his wish, so she turned around and went back to the palace.
Since Xie Shu dared to marry into other noble families, how could he let Xie Shu have an easy time?
As Princess Weihe, Shao Yu had few restrictions on entering and leaving the palace.
As soon as Shao Yu entered the palace, he went straight to where Emperor Qing was. Emperor Qing was enjoying the spring in the imperial garden. After a while, he summoned him over.
Shao Yu discovered that the person accompanying Emperor Qing was Wei Jun, and Shao Yu had some impression of this person.
This Wei Jun was a palace maid in the Jiangnan Palace of Emperor Qing. After being noticed by Emperor Qing, he brought her back.
At first he just wanted something new, then Emperor Qing ignored him for a while, but now for some reason he still favors her again, so I guess he has quite some tricks and abilities.
However, the Prince of Wei had no power or influence, and no offspring, so no one paid much attention to him.
Seeing Shao Yu coming, Emperor Qing couldn't help but ask, "Why do you have the time to come see me today?"
Emperor Qing knew Princess Weihe very well. He knew that Princess Weihe had a proud personality. She must have something important to tell him when she suddenly came to the palace to see him.
Seeing that Emperor Qing had no intention of asking Wei Qingtong to move away from him, Princess Weihe said indifferently, "Your Majesty knows what I'm worried about recently."
Emperor Qing laughed and said, "Brother, have you arranged a marriage for Jiao'er? Who has this honor? Tell me about it. If brother hadn't insisted on choosing a husband for Jiao'er, I would have arranged a good marriage for him a long time ago. But since brother has chosen one, I will marry him off in a grand manner, but I have to be careful before I can decide."
Princess Weihe's face turned unhappy when she heard this: "Your Majesty, I would like to marry Jiao'er off, but others don't think highly of our family."
Emperor Qing was very surprised when he heard this: "Who would look down on my nephew? She was appointed as the county lady by me personally!"
Princess Weihe complained, "What's the use of being a county lady? How can you compare to those five surnames and four families?"
Princess Weihe's words were not groundless. The five surnames and four families did not refer to ordinary aristocratic families, but the four noble surnames and five other aristocratic families with equally long histories.
For hundreds of years, no matter how many dynasties have passed, the aristocratic families have always stood firm because of the convention that only the children of the nobles can serve as officials. Therefore, everyone is proud to marry into these aristocratic families. These aristocratic families rarely marry outsiders, unless they are powerful officials in the court. If Emperor Qing had not started to implement the imperial examination system, some aristocratic families would have declined, such as the Lu family, otherwise it would not have been Kong Xiu's turn.
But even so, the concept of aristocratic families is deeply rooted, and the gap between the gentry and the common people is extremely deep. When the Qing Dynasty was first established, it was not easy for the emperor to marry a girl from an aristocratic family for his son. For example, the concubine of Emperor Qing at that time was just the daughter of an ordinary official.
Princess Weihe's words immediately touched Emperor Qing's heart. Emperor Qing looked around and said angrily, "How can this be absurd? Could it be that the emperor of my family who has lived for a hundred years is not as good as a family name? Who dares to be so bold?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around knelt down. Wei Qingtong brought them tea and whispered consolations.
Princess Weihe was overjoyed, for she knew very well that the reason why Emperor Qing was so angry was because she had given him a reason to attack the aristocratic family.
Even if Xie Shu is extremely talented, as long as he dares to marry a girl from aristocratic family, he will be a discarded pawn, and Emperor Qing can use him as an example to scare the monkeys.
Princess Weihe then spoke up, "Your Majesty, calm down. You will definitely remember this man. He is Xie Shu, the top scholar from last year."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tea in Wei Qingtong's hand shook and almost spilled.
Emperor Qing noticed it, but before he could think about it, he also frowned.
After Shao Yu finished speaking, he thought that Emperor Qing would decide on punishment measures for this person, but unexpectedly, Emperor Qing seemed to be thinking about something and did not say a word.
Shao Yu then said anxiously: "Your Majesty, although this person is extremely talented, but..."
Before he finished speaking, Emperor Qing said, "Brother, are you sure it's Xie Shu? There must be some inside story. I remember that Xie Shu is already married, isn't he?"
Emperor Qing certainly did not say this to favor Xie Shu, but he was really impressed by Xie Shu. Moreover, when he was in Jiangnan, he had personally met Xie Shu and his husband Yu Chuxi. The two were a loving couple and were truly a perfect match.
Shao Yu didn't expect that Emperor Qing actually knew that Xie Shu had been married before. He felt a little uncomfortable for a moment, and didn't know how to explain it. Wei Qingtong beside him smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I also remember that Lord Xie once married into the Yu family. It has only been a few years, has Lord Xie married again? In my opinion, Your Majesty should call someone to inquire about it, and then you can know whether this matter is true or not."
Shao Yu's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself that Wei Qingtong was quite shrewd. Not only did he help him out, but he also took the opportunity to throw some dirty water on Xie Shu.
Just letting Xie Shu meet the emperor in person, no one knew what he would do. But Shao Yu changed his mind and realized that even if Xie Shu made all kinds of excuses at this moment, he would not be able to be reused by the emperor again.
At this time, Xie Shu received an urgent edict from the emperor at home. He was not in a hurry and followed the eunuch calmly.
Although as a seventh-rank editor he had never met the emperor alone since the palace examination, for others, meeting the emperor was a difficult task. If they were not careful, they would end up in pieces. But for him, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The place where Emperor Qing summoned him was in the back hall, which made Xie Shu more certain of his guess. Sure enough, when he got there, he saw a handsome man with a red mole on the tip of his nose. He thought it was Princess Weihe. As for the person next to Emperor Qing, he was also an acquaintance.
But Xie Shu pretended not to see it. After entering the palace, he greeted Emperor Qing without even looking away.
Emperor Qing observed that Xie Shu was not panicked and did not seem to know Princess Weihe. He knew what was going on, but it did not stop him from getting angry.
Xie Shu could be regarded as the top scholar personally chosen by Emperor Qing. Despite such great honor and favor, he secretly turned to a powerful aristocratic family. How could Emperor Qing tolerate this?
Emperor Qing said calmly: "Xie Shu, I heard that there is a happy event in your family recently? But are you going to get married?"
Xie Shu said calmly, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."
Emperor Qing said coldly, "Oh? I wonder who Xie Qing married this time? What official rank and family background are worthy of Xie Qing's actions?"
As soon as Emperor Qing said this, everyone around him fell silent, knowing that after today, Xie Shu's official career would be over.
However, Xie Shu neither apologized nor begged for mercy, but just asked in surprise: "Where did Your Majesty hear about this?
Although I am going to get married recently, the one I am going to marry is not someone else, but my wife. I was very poor in the past and could not give my wife a grand wedding banquet. A few days ago, my wife came to Beijing to look for me, and I started to prepare, but I didn’t expect that it would cause misunderstandings from others. "
When Xie Shu gave this explanation, everyone present had different expressions. Wei Qingtong had a complicated look, but Emperor Qing reacted immediately. If this was the reason, he could completely understand it.
Thinking of this, Emperor Qing couldn't help but feel very embarrassed. When he was thinking about how to turn around, Princess Weihe frowned in dissatisfaction. He just felt that Xie Shu's words were nonsense. What about re-holding the wedding must be an excuse. He must not let him go like this.
However, as soon as Princess Weihe opened her mouth, Emperor Qing interrupted her. At this time, how could Emperor Qing not understand what was going on?
Judging from the eldest brother's personality, he must have taken a fancy to Xie Shu and wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law, but when he saw that it didn't work out, he came to me. And what Shao Yu said and did just now was to irritate me so that it would be easier to act.
After figuring everything out, Emperor Qing felt extremely upset. If Shao Yu was not his brother, he would never let it go. Naturally, Emperor Qing did not want to listen to him anymore, so Shao Yu had to shut up.
At this time, Emperor Qing said kindly: "It turns out that I misunderstood Mr. Xie."
Xie Shu smiled and said, "It is normal for your majesty to have such concerns. How can the five families and four surnames be so proud of themselves nowadays, and why do people value them so much? I think this is the case. If your majesty wants to change this trend, you must make up your mind."
Emperor Qing was very interested when he heard this and asked, "Oh? What do you think, Mr. Xie?"
Of course, Emperor Qing actually disagreed in his heart. Nowadays, the concept of aristocratic families has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and cannot be easily shaken. Emperor Qing has tried many methods before. He once asked people to redefine the list of aristocratic families and set the Shao family as the first class, but this book was rarely circulated after that. Therefore, Emperor Qing knew that only the imperial examination system could get rid of the situation in the court that was restricted by aristocratic families.
Xie Shu whispered, "Your Majesty, the aristocratic families rely on intermarriages among themselves, and their relationships are complicated and intertwined, so they are stable and unshakable. Now that Your Majesty has implemented the imperial examination system, the candidates are regarded by the aristocratic families as a bond to maintain their family status. Therefore, Your Majesty might as well directly prohibit the officials in the court from marrying with the five surnames of the aristocratic families."
Emperor Qing's eyes lit up when he heard this. This plan was very good. It directly cut off the firewood from under the cauldron. However, how many people would follow this decree? However, he didn't want others to follow it.
The fact that he could come up with this idea shows Xie Shu's talent.
At this time, Xie Shu spoke again: "This idea came to me on the spur of the moment. I am worried about offending others. I hope Your Majesty will understand..."
Emperor Qing understood the meaning of Xie Shu's words. If this matter were to get out, how would Xie Shu gain a foothold in the court in the future? However, Xie Shu's willingness to take such a risk also showed his loyalty to him.
But just now in the Imperial Garden, I took the opportunity to attack. If I don’t issue the decree now, when should I do it? But who should be the scapegoat this time?
Emperor Qing's eyes turned from Shao Yu, who had a grim look on his face, to him. Then Emperor Qing looked very pleased and ordered people to reward Xie Shu with many gifts before letting Xie Shu go.
Within a few days, Emperor Qing issued a decree prohibiting officials of the seventh rank and above in the court from marrying people from the five surnames.
When this decree was issued, the government and the public were shocked.
No one expected that Emperor Qing would make such a decision, and how should the aristocratic families respond.
People rushed around and tried to find out the inside story. Soon, a rumor spread that the matter was related to Princess Shao Yu of Weihe. It was she who instigated Emperor Qing to do so because he did not want to marry Lu Jiao to a noble family.
And Shao Yu's current stay indoors makes the matter even more confusing.
The marriage between Kong Xiu and the Lu family was also postponed indefinitely. After all, no one dared to bring bad luck at this time.
At this time, firecrackers were rising into the sky outside the Zhuangyuan Mansion, and red silk was dancing. Today was the day when Xie Shu and Yu Chuxi were holding their wedding banquet.
First bow to heaven, second bow to parents, husband and wife bow to each other, and then enter the bridal chamber.
After Yu Chuxi arrived at the bridal chamber, he heard the laughter and chatter of the guests outside, and felt strange. Was this a real marriage? He had imagined it before, and it turned out to be like this.
Thinking of how Xie Shu had been holding his hand and whispering to him, Yu Chuxi couldn't help but want to laugh.
Outside, there was a lot of noise and joy, and there were many guests. In fact, those Xie Shu invited were all fellow candidates for the imperial examination, or friends from the same hometown in the capital. Almost all of them came to show their support after receiving the invitation.
However, Xie Shu had no intention of accompanying the guests. He originally held the wedding banquet not to have people be witnesses, but just to give her a wedding that belonged to them alone.
So when Xie Shu saw Yu Chuxi was about to enter the bridal chamber, he hurriedly said that he would be there soon, but at this moment, he realized that his words were really a bit strange. Fortunately, he said it in her husband's ear, and no one else heard it.
Not long after, Xie Shu got rid of everyone and stepped into the new house.
I saw that a pair of red candles inlaid with gold-carved dragons and phoenixes had been lit on the wedding table in the inner room. The soft halo was swaying slightly. Behind the broken jade bead curtain, a figure was sitting quietly.
Yu Chuxi heard the footsteps and looked up at him from under the soft gauze curtain. He had beautiful eyebrows and a red mole at the corner of his eye that looked like a red plum blossom blooming in the first snow. His eyes were bright and his rouge lips were shining with a translucent luster.
Xie Shu walked up to him. His heartbeat was not as calm as usual, beating against his chest again and again, and his breathing became a little rapid.
Xie Shu's voice unconsciously became a little hoarse. After sitting down, he whispered in Yu Chuxi's ear: "My dear..."
For some reason, Yu Chuxi always felt that there was some kind of danger hidden in the man's behavior at this moment, and the hot air blowing on his ears made him feel itchy. He couldn't help but dodge back, but before he could get far away, Xie Shu held him in his arms and pressed him down.
Yu Chuxi's thick, long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she raised her hands to hook them around his neck.
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